Sales, gift cards draw people to stores day after Christmas

Shoppers walk through the isles of Target in Anderson Monday afternoon.

Shoppers walk through the isles of Target in Anderson Monday afternoon.

Jared Monroe, 5, left, and Justin Monroe, 6, sit in a shopping cart as their mother Ashley Monroe looks at DVDs in Target Monday afternoon. Monroe said she was shopping to spend money that she received as a Christmas gift.

Prices on children's clothing at Kmart were marked half off or more Monday.

Rucia Adams of Toccoa, Ga., looks through a pile of pajamas that were on sale at Kmart in Anderson Monday afternoon.

Kmart in Anderson served several customers at its returns and exchanges counter Monday.

Susan Thomas returned clothes that were too small for her children to Kmart on Monday afternoon.

ANDERSON - When Lee Propp opened the front doors to his family's business at 8:30 a.m. Monday, the parking lot in front of the drug store on North Fant Street was full.

People were there to take advantage of the half-off prices and to stock up for the next Christmas holiday, Propp said. Propp's family has owned Propp Drugs for 52 years and for 44 of those years, the drug store and gift shop has been at the same spot, near the intersection of Boulevard and North Fant Street.

"It's usually the same people who come in each year," Propp said. "We have a group of about 10 people who come by here on Christmas Day and they peek through our windows to see what we have left, and they make a list, and then they come back."

The small store was buzzing from 9 a.m. until about noon with customers. They were stocking up on next year's list of gifts and buying Christmas decorations that were marked down.

A similar scene played out Monday at other stores around Anderson.

The Anderson Mall was full of people carrying armloads of shopping bags for the mall's many stores. Parking lots at the city's major shopping centers were all full of cars — a sharp contrast from the stillness that covered the city just a day earlier.

Many turned out at stores to redeem gift cards they received on Christmas.

Kelly Ross and her 17-year-old daughter, Allison Ross, drove to the Anderson Mall from Ware Shoals on Monday so Allison could spend the money and gift cards she received as presents. Just after lunch time, Allison had an arm full of bags from her favorite stores.

"The Anderson Mall is closer than Greenville for us, and they have all the name-brand stores that she likes," Kelly said.

At Target, there were 100 people waiting at the store's entrance when the employees opened the doors at 7 a.m., manager Ryan Justice said. Other people were sitting in the cars waiting for the opening hour.

Justice said the largest rush they see the day after Christmas is for people who want to spend their gift cards.

"Grandma's bought her grandson that gift card and he can't get in here quick enough to spend it," Justice said. "A lot of them, who were waiting this morning, went straight to the electronics department."

The small cafe inside Target was full of people around 1 p.m. Monday. There was a short line at the customer service counter, where people were waiting to exchange items or return them. Justice said the items brought in for exchange or return at Christmas varies.

Usually clothes are brought in because they are bought in the wrong size or color. Some were bringing electronics and cooking items, like crock pots and countertop ovens, too.

And the biggest sale item the day after Christmas: wrapping paper, Justice said.

"Wrapping paper is always a big hit the day after Christmas," he said.

Christmas decorations, trees and wrapping paper were big hits at Kmart too. There, the traffic picked up around 11:30 a.m., manager Gene Benfield said. About 10 people waited in line at the customer service counter with everything from bikes to dishes to jackets that they needed to return or exchange.

And the main things that brought people in were the sales on Christmas decorations, storage containers for all the decorations and winter clothes, which were also marked down, Benfield said.

"Today has been better than anticipated," Benfield said. "It helped that the day after Christmas fell on a Monday. We have been pleased with turnout and it looks like its going to stay that way all day."